Potential trade partners for Leonard will line up on both coasts

Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBron James defends San Antonio Spurs' Kawhi Leonard during first half action Thursday March 12, 2015 at the AT&T Center.

Photo: Edward A. Ornelas, Staff / San Antonio Express-News

Los Angeles reportedly sits atop Kawhi Leonard’s wish list of trade destinations, but league sources say multiple East Coast teams could also make plays for the disgruntled Spurs star should the team make him available.

Speculation about a blockbuster deal that would have far-reaching ripple effects in the NBA ran rampant Friday after sources told the Express-News that Leonard wants out of San Antonio. The sources said Leonard has grown uncomfortable with the franchise and the way it handled his rehabilitation last season from what it termed as right quadriceps tendinopathy.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich could still make a Hail Mary bid to meet with Leonard and patch up the club’s tattered relationship with the two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, who can opt out of his contract after next season. But with so many teams hungry for a franchise-altering star like Leonard lining up as potential trade partners, it will be tempting to strike a deal before the NBA Draft gets underway next Thursday night.

Related Stories

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers are already showing interest, ESPN has reported.

Of the two, the Lakers seem better positioned to have the Spurs’ ear. They have several young assets, including future stars Brandon Ingram and Kyle Kuzma, to dangle in front of Spurs general manager R.C. Buford, plus the cap room to not only add Leonard but perhaps another game-changer like LeBron James or Paul George.

A trade in which the Spurs get Ingram, Kuzma and Luol Deng, who is necessary so the Lakers can unload the remaining two years of his $36.6 million contract, and a first-round pick would be enticing. But for it to happen, the Spurs would need to tweak the deal or involve a third team to comply with league salary cap rules.

Not to be outdone by their flashier L.A. counterparts, the Clippers could offer something along the lines of Tobias Harris, Patrick Beverley and the added fat, juicy plum of two first-round picks, a valuable asset since both would be projected to fall into the late lottery. It’s a sweet haul that would give the Spurs a viable path out of the post-Leonard era.

In the 25-year-old Harris, the Spurs would get a poor man’s version of Leonard. In Beverley, they would obtain the kind of dogged perimeter defender Popovich covets.

But a pair a pair of East Coast teams, especially the Boston Celtics, also have the pieces needed to swap with the Spurs.

Jaylen Brown, who turns 22 in October, is a rising star who could be a cornerstone player for the Spurs for years to come. Throw in, say, Greg Monroe and a first-round pick, and the Celtics could land Leonard to give them a fierce fivesome that would include Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, Al Horford and Jayson Tatum, the 20-year-old whose play propelled the injury-weakened team to a seventh game in the Eastern Conference Finals.

And then there’s this: The Celtics have a history of seeking Leonard, having made an offer for him before the February trade deadline last season, ESPN reported this week. The Spurs, though, shot it down without making a counteroffer.

League sources say the Philadelphia 76ers could also be in play as a potential trade partner with the Spurs.

A deal that would include last season’s No. 1 pick, Markelle Fultz, along with sweeteners Dario Saric and a first-round pick (10th overall) could work. For the salary-cap math to work, the Sixers would also have to throw in Jerryd Bayless.

Fultz, though, is a dice roll. A shoulder injury sabotaged his shooting stroke and limited him to just 14 regular-season games as a rookie in 2017-18. Another potential problem: The Spurs already have a high-potential, shooting-challenged point guard in Dejounte Murray.

One thing is certain: If the Spurs do decide to trade Leonard before the draft, they will have plenty of suitors.

After three years as a part-time employee covering mainly high school sports, Tom Orsborn became a full-time employee at the Express-News in October 1985. He's covered the Dallas Cowboys and the NFL since 1999 and has also covered the Spurs, the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, and a variety of other events, including 14 Super Bowls.